Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Xbox 360, PS3)
by Eddie Turner on October 6, 2008 3:00 AM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
Storyline
As the game begins, players take control of Vader on the planet Kashyyk, a.k.a. the Wookie planet, as he attempts to seek out and destroy a Jedi Separatist given refuge by the Wookie population. Before going further, it should be stressed that the game's focus is on evil verses good instead of the other way around. While the events that take place in this first sequence of the game may seem foreign and even cruel to some players, those whose secret desires include killing Chewbacca will feel right at home as the Wookie slaughter commences in full force.
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After making short work of the big fuzz balls, Vader's Jedi mark emerges from his hideout and a battle sequence begins, allowing players to test out the various force-inspired attacks offered in the game. When the skirmish comes to a close, Vader encounters the young son of the defeated Jedi who displays an impressive presence of the force. Bewildered at this child's abilities, Darth recruits the young boy who will later serve as his secret apprentice, dubbed Starkiller.
Once the story advances to the game's "present day" setting, Starkiller becomes the playable character. While in possession of a number of different force powers, the apprentice's abilities are far outmatched by those displayed by Vader in the opening sequence. However, this serves as a starting point for the apprentice as he enhances his force power and gains new abilities while embarking on missions given to him by Lord Vader, each of which will aid in ridding the empire of the remaining members of the Jedi order. While acting in secret, Starkiller is seen as a foreign aggressor, hence the rebel resistance throughout each mission. The story in The Force Unleashed is engaging to say the least. Coupled with the terrific voice acing Lucas Arts' games are renowned for, this new branch of the Star Wars saga is indeed one fans should check out.
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AnnonymousCoward - Tuesday, October 7, 2008 - link
From http://tinyurl.com/49z2kg">http://tinyurl.com/49z2kg "so processor intensive and powerful that the kind of machine you'd need to run them is not the kind of machine most people are going to have...Every platform is getting a great game and they should all be able to stand-alone; we didn't want to deliver a sub-par experience for PC gamers."PC's have FAR greater single-thread performance than the Cell. That was the case even before the C2D, and now I'd bet that a dual-core C2D could compete with 6 fully utilized Cell processors. Not even mentioning quad core. Or GPU physics!!
Aside from all that, how could they deliver par performances on PS2, Wii, DS, and PSP? Does the physics there just suck, and that level of physics suckiness would be sub-par on PC?
Note to LucasArts: use the GPU for physics!
Jawadali - Monday, October 6, 2008 - link
I have only played the demo of the Xbox 360 version of this game, but If you are looking for a game where you can use force-like powers, I'd recommend playing Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy. In addition to being a decent third-person shooter, there are a decent number of powers that you can use not only to fight (or avoid fighting) enemies, but also to solve puzzles to progress through the various missions. For a PS2/Xbox game, I think the application of these powers was pretty novel and well executed in Psi-Ops.jasonmellow - Monday, October 6, 2008 - link
Star Wars Battlefront I was the reason I started building my own PC. Star Wars Battlefront II is the reason I keep upgrading my hardware and is still my favorite game due to the intense and competitive multi-player action. As a Star Wars fan who loves his PC, I bum that this new title is useless to me.EddieTurner - Monday, October 6, 2008 - link
If you make your next upgrade an Xbox 360, you'll be set. I do know that another Battlefront is at least being pondered over right now. Probably already in the works. No mention of platform though.Unleashed is still fun to play despite its repetition. If you're a Sta Wars fan, that'll make the experience even better.
TheFace - Monday, October 6, 2008 - link
It's a rental. Why buy it with no multiplayer, no co-op. Basically little replayability.Spivonious - Monday, October 6, 2008 - link
What about the Wii version? It seems strange to ignore it.EddieTurner - Monday, October 6, 2008 - link
Lucas Arts didn't send me the Wii version. I did ask for it though.strikeback03 - Monday, October 6, 2008 - link
Didn't Yoda say "Always two there are, a master and an apprentice." How does a third fit that already established line?mmntech - Monday, October 6, 2008 - link
Vader takes on Starkiller as an apprentice in secret in order to overthrow the Palpatine. This is explained pretty early in the game, as well as in the demo. That's why he's charged with the task of leaving no witnesses, including Imperials.I liked this game but I think it was definitely overhyped. It was short for a console title and I felt DMM and Euphoria weren't used to their full potential except on the first level (as Vader). The highlight of Force Unleashed was finding out the fate of Jar Jar Binks. He can be found frozen in carbonite in the museum on Imperial Kashyyyk. I guess that's not him at the end of Episode VI (DVD) unless someone was foolish enough to defrost him.
slashbinslashbash - Monday, October 6, 2008 - link
Wookiee (2 e's) and Kashyyyk (3 y's)